Money Money Money - Top Idioms In English

In today’s lesson, we’re going to be learning 20  English idioms which relate to money. These are  

all phrases which are very common, you may have  already heard them in conversational English.

Hello Everyone, Anna here from  englishlikeanative.com the site which helps you  

to speak English with confidence. And for those of  you who would love to have an English accent, you  

can download my free guide to sounding  British by clicking on the link below.

Right 20 money idioms coming up.  

There are many more which are not on  this list so if you can think of one  

I don’t mention, leave it in the comments and  we can all learn together. Let’s get started.

1. A penny for your thoughts?
This is  a question which means ‘what are you  

thinking about?’. If someone looks confused, you  might ask them “a penny for your thoughts?”.
 

2. Cost a pretty penny
If something costs  a pretty penny, then it is very expensive.
 

3. A quick buck
Money which was easy to make.  If you sell something you own very easily,  

you could say ‘it was a quick  buck’ or ‘I made a quick buck’. 
 

4. Daylight robbery
Obvious, unfair overcharging.  For example, a cinema selling a can of lemonade  

for £3 when you could but it for 70p from the  corner shop could be considered daylight robbery.
 

5. From rags to riches
From poverty from  wealth. We hear this saying about celebrities  

who came from poverty-stricken  backgrounds but now have lots of money,  

they are wealthy.
 6. I don’t have two pennies to rub  

together
This is a colloquial phrase which means  ‘I am very poor, I don’t have much money at all’.
 

7. If I had a penny for every time  this happened, I’d be rich.
This  

phrase is used to describe something that happens  a lot. For example, you could say “If I had a  

penny for every time you were late, I’d be rich.”
 8. Money doesn’t grow on trees.
This  

is a saying that means money is not easy  to acquire. It doesn’t grow on trees. You  

often hear parents saying this to their  children when they ask for something. 
 

9. To be on the money
To be correct  about something or someone. For example,  

you could say “I had an instinct that we  should hire her and I was on the money”,  

meaning you made a good choice to hire  this person. She was the right choice.
 

10. Two sides of the same coin
Two people with  a shared goal but opposing views. For example,  

you could say “I thought we should buy mum flowers  but my sister said we should buy her chocolates  

so we’re on two sides of the same coin.”
 11. Strapped for cash
To be ‘strapped for cash’  

means to be short of money. For example: “The  restaurant looks lovely but I’m a bit strapped for  

cash at the moment. Could we go somewhere else?”
 12. Ten a penny
If something is ‘ten a penny’,  

it is very common. The americanised version  of this phrase is ‘a dime a dozen’.
 

13. To cut one’s losses
To abandon a plan or a  project which is clearly going to be unsuccessful  

before the situation becomes worse.  

For example: “It started raining as soon as we  went outside for the BBQ so we decided to cut  

our losses and have a takeaway inside instead.”
 14. To earn a living
To make enough money to live  

comfortably. For example: “He earns  a living by selling his art.”
 

15. To feel the pinch
To experience financial  hardship. For example: “Christmas is expensive  

so it is common to feel the pinch in January.”
 16. To foot the bill
To  

pay for everyone. For example: “It’s  John’s birthday so I’ll foot the bill”.
 

17. To give someone a run for their  money
To be a challenging competitor.  

For example: “Florence is a good baker but  Joe could give her a run for her money.”
 

18. To have the penny drop
To finally  realise or understand something. For example:  

“I used to find playing the guitar really  difficult but now the penny has dropped.”
 

19. To spend a penny
This is an interesting one  because it means something very different to  

what you’d expect. ‘To spend a penny’ means  to go to the toilet. It’s a very British,  

polite way of saying it. “Excuse me,  I’m just going to spend a penny.”
 

20. Two cents
Your opinion. You could ‘give  your two cents’ or ‘put your two cents in’  

and that just means to give  your opinion about something.
 

So there we have 20 money-related British  idioms. How many of them did you know already?  

Can you think of any more? Let me know in  the comments. section below until next time  

there's a couple of other videos for you to sink  your teeth into otherwise i'll see you soon bye